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Absence of Government
The government had little interest in controlling business and passed high tariffs that hurt farmers as they struggled to fight debts and low crop prices. -
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The Roaring 20's
During the Roaring 20's, there was a business boom which increased productivity and consumerism as Americans were over-consuming appliances. -
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Stock Speculation
Because of the business boom of the 1920's, many people started to over speculate on stocks and invest their money into them. Many hoped to make even more money than they had originally spent but, many invested thinking stock would keep going up. -
Stock Market Crash
When the stock market crashed, many people lost fortunes as an abundance of people were invested in the stock market. -
Bank Failures
As the stock market crashed, many people rushed to empty out their money from banks. The banks however were unable to meet people's demands as they themselves lent out money without guaranteeing their money back. -
Hawley-Smoot Tariff
The Hawley-Smoot Tariff was one of the policies under president Hoover. It raised taxes on foreign imports significantly which then prompted European countries to do the same. It decreased international trade and sank both sides further into the depression. -
First New Deal
When FDR was elected he promised a New Deal, aimed to fix the Great Depression. Under this New Deal was economic reforms & recoveries such as bank holidays to reorganize them and programs aimed to help the unemployed such as the Public Works Admin. that sourced construction jobs. -
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Union Strikes/Organizations
Because of the legalization of labor unions, many workers started to strike against their companies for better working conditions and a minimum wage. -
Second New Deal
FDR was re-elected where he introduced a second New Deal. This time, it aimed to help economic security and increase government intervention. Under these reforms were the Social Security Act and the Wagner Act. -
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Rise of Dictatorships and Aggression
Leading up to U.S involvement, we saw the rise of fascism and aggression in Germany, Italy, and Japan. They were conquering lands and they were slowly expanding until they invaded Poland, where France and Britain declared war on Germany and soon Japan and Italy. -
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Continued Conquest
Germany and Italy continued their conquests as Germany took over France, Norway and more. Germany continued to be aggressive as they kept bombing Allied ships but were gradually loosing as the Allied powers started to bomb German cities and military targets. -
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U.S. Aid
Wanting to help but also keeping their isolationist ideals, the U.S would send aid to Britain under the means of upholding U.S security. They gave old used ships in exchanged for land and escorting British ships while Germany was getting more aggressive in the seas. -
Collaboration and Discrimination
Many minorities came to help the U.S. with the war and their nation. African Americans and Natives were joining the war but were still segregated and discriminated against. Likewise, many Mexican Americans came to the U.S during the harvest season but were met with white resentment and zoot suit riots. Since men were at war, women took over men's jobs but for a reduced pay. -
End Of Depression
These reforms and acts only worked to a certain extend. It didn't fix the depression but it did ease it. It was only until the U.S entered WWII where the depression ended. -
Stopping Japan
Japan conquered the Pacific was they invaded many East and Southeast Asian land. Soon though, the U.S would decode Japanese messages which allowed them to stop Japanese expansion. -
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Targeting Italy
U.S. and British forces planned to invade Italy, starting in North Africa where they would have to drive out German forces. They occupied North Africa and made their way up to Italy, where German troops took over as Mussolini (Italy) fell from power. Germany tried their best to resist but ultimately failed as they surrendered. -
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U.S. Enters War
While escorting a British ship, the American destroyer "Greer" was attacked by a German submarine, entering the U.S. into an undeclared naval war. Moreover, relations with Japan was becoming tense. There were many disputes with Japan such as Japan invaded China but, the ultimate deal breaker was Pearl Harbor. When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, the U.S immediately declared war (joining the Allied forces of the Soviet Union and Britain) which prompted Germany and Italy to also declare war. -
Rise of War Production
Because the U.S. had entered the war, there was a new role for the U.S. With these new demands of weapons and ships, jobs quickly rose as assembly lines rapidly put out war products. There was agencies such as the War Production Board (WPB) to overlook and manage these new industries of war materials. -
Government Spending
Because the U.S. was at war with three countries, they needed a way to finance it. This prompted the government to increase and automatically get income tax from workers and to sell war bonds. The government spent billions on the war. -
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D-Day and Surrender
To liberate France, U.S, Britain and Canada joined together to push back German forces starting on the Normandy coast. After Paris was liberated, they resumed their advances to Berlin where they started having bombing raids. Accepting defeat, Hitler would kill himself and Nazi troops would surrender. -
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
During the war, the U.S worked heavily on crating a new and deadly weapon, the atomic bomb. President Truman warned Japan to surrender or else Japan would face great destruction. Japan denied and Truman ordered the atomic bomb to be dropped on Hiroshima and later on Nagasaki. Within a week, Japan surrendered under the agreement they would keep their emperor. -
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Battle of Leyte Gulf
During this battle, the U.S. destroyed the Japanese navy which led Japan to use suicide attacks on the U.S. during the Battle of Okinawa. This would ultimately not work as the U.S killed 100,000 Japanese.